1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electric light sources, and more particularly to an electric light source which provides illumination virtually without glare. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to an electric light assembly and associated housing therefor which provides a headlamp having a minimal amount of glare for automotive applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electric lights are extremely well known in the prior art for providing illumination. Electric lights used for automotive purposes generally are four component devices. The four components consist of a housing; a bulb located within the housing, the bulb having an electrically heated filament for providing light; a concave mirror located within the housing at a rearward end, the concave mirror culminating and reflecting the light forwardly of the bulb; and a compound lens located at an aperture in the housing forwardly of the bulb, the lens serving to condense the light into a predetermined pattern of beams.
While this construction is proper from an engineering standpoint, it fails to take into account that the concave reflector and compound lens concentrate the light emitted from the bulb into beam patterns which glare when viewed by the human eye. Consequently, the light emitted from the electric lights, especially headlamps, is harsh and decidedly difficult for the eye to accommodate, particularly as caused by the concave shape of the concave reflector.
There have been certain attempts in the prior art to address the issue of glare in automotive electric lights. U.S. Pat. No. 3,088,023 to Ayroldi, dated Apr. 30, 1963, discloses an automotive headlamp having an ellipsoidal reflector, a bulb, a diaphragm having a small central aperture, a baffle, and a convex lens. U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,989 to Biggs, dated Aug. 10, 1971, discloses a headlamp having a bulb, a curved reflector, a slitted gate and a convex lens. U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,280 to Plewka, dated Nov. 20, 1979 discloses a headlamp having auxiliary lights to light-up the front vehicle so as to reduce contrast and, therefore, glare. U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,919 to Lindae et al., dated July 5, 1988, discloses a headlamp in which the reflector is shaped in a predetermined configuration so as to reduce glare. U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,398 to Muto, dated May 1, 1990, discloses a lamp assembly in which glare is controlled by use of a cylindrical mask adjacent the bulb, the mask permitting only curved surfaces of the reflector to reflect light. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,319 to Seko, dated Oct. 30, 1990, discloses a headlamp having a reflector, bulb, convex lens, an internal shader plate and an adjustment mechanism to change the optical axis upon detection of an approaching vehicle.
In spite of ubiquitous complaints about headlamp glare, there yet remains in the art no viable solution. Consequently, what is needed is a simple, effective headlamp system that solves the glare problem while yet providing an acceptable amount of illumination.